Latest news with #Eurojackpot
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
What would I do if I won the lottery? I'd blast the world's worst people into space
Thoughts and prayers to the thousands of Norwegians who have just had one of the best weekends of their lives, followed by one hell of a comedown. Thanks to a currency conversion snafu by the state lottery operator, numerous people were incorrectly informed on Friday that they had won life-changing amounts of money in the Eurojackpot. On Monday, a text message was sent to players informing them of the mix-up. It seems Norwegians are a prudent bunch; I haven't found any examples of people spending Jeff Bezos-levels of money as soon as they were told they had won big. Me? I would have gone into evil billionaire mode immediately. First, I would have done what all rich people appear to do these days: bought myself a friend in high places. Judging by Elon Musk's investments in the US election, a compliant president seems to cost about $291m. However, considering the recent public Musk-Trump bickering, even that doesn't guarantee you long-term loyalty. So I might have contented myself with a mayor. Billionaire Bill Ackman recently said he is 'gravely concerned' by the possibility of Zohran Mamdani being elected mayor of New York and is ready, alongside his wealthy friends, to spend 'hundreds of millions of dollars' getting a corporate-friendly candidate elected instead. Because that's what democracy looks like, folks! While politician-purchasing is all the rage among the 1%, philanthropy is so last-century. Today's robber barons have given up pretending to give a damn about the poor and are spending their cash on tacky Venice weddings and apocalypse bunkers instead. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan's, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) recently stopped funding a number of social causes, including a school for low-income families. While CZI said it would throw a little cash to the students, 400 children were abruptly left in the lurch. What I would really like to do (apart from cloning my dog), however, is execute the Led By Donkeys idea of banishing billionaires to Mars. I would build a big spaceship and lure the worst people in the world into it with promises of a multimillion-dollar wedding party. Then off they would go to circle the solar system, leaving the rest of us in peace. Pedants and peasants, please don't @ me and tell me that the Eurojackpot doesn't pay out that kind of money. This is just fantasy, OK? Which is pretty much the only thing that is still free these days. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
What would I do if I won the lottery? I'd blast the world's worst people into space
Thoughts and prayers to the thousands of Norwegians who have just had one of the best weekends of their lives, followed by one hell of a comedown. Thanks to a currency conversion snafu by the state lottery operator, numerous people were incorrectly informed on Friday that they had won life-changing amounts of money in the Eurojackpot. On Monday, a text message was sent to players informing them of the mix-up. It seems Norwegians are a prudent bunch; I haven't found any examples of people spending Jeff Bezos-levels of money as soon as they were told they had won big. Me? I would have gone into evil billionaire mode immediately. First, I would have done what all rich people appear to do these days: bought myself a friend in high places. Judging by Elon Musk's investments in the US election, a compliant president seems to cost about $291m. However, considering the recent public Musk-Trump bickering, even that doesn't guarantee you long-term loyalty. So I might have contented myself with a mayor. Billionaire Bill Ackman recently said he is 'gravely concerned' by the possibility of Zohran Mamdani being elected mayor of New York and is ready, alongside his wealthy friends, to spend 'hundreds of millions of dollars' getting a corporate-friendly candidate elected instead. Because that's what democracy looks like, folks! While politician-purchasing is all the rage among the 1%, philanthropy is so last-century. Today's robber barons have given up pretending to give a damn about the poor and are spending their cash on tacky Venice weddings and apocalypse bunkers instead. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan's, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) recently stopped funding a number of social causes, including a school for low-income families. While CZI said it would throw a little cash to the students, 400 children were abruptly left in the lurch. What I would really like to do (apart from cloning my dog), however, is execute the Led By Donkeys idea of banishing billionaires to Mars. I would build a big spaceship and lure the worst people in the world into it with promises of a multimillion-dollar wedding party. Then off they would go to circle the solar system, leaving the rest of us in peace. Pedants and peasants, please don't @ me and tell me that the Eurojackpot doesn't pay out that kind of money. This is just fantasy, OK? Which is pretty much the only thing that is still free these days. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
UPI
01-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
Thousands of Norwegians incorrectly informed of big lottery wins
A currency conversion error led to at least 47,000 people in Norway being incorrectly told that they had won big lottery prizes. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo July 1 (UPI) -- The national lottery operator in Norway apologized after at least 47,000 people who won small amounts were mistakenly told they had won much more. Norsk Tipping sent a text message to 47,000 lottery players in the country informing them that their reported prize amounts for the Eurojackpot drawing had been mistakenly inflated due to an error in currency conversion. The operator explained the prize amounts it receives from Germany are given in euros, which are then converted to Norwegian kroner. The error occurred during conversion for the recent Eurojackpot drawing, when the number of euros was multiplied by 100, instead of being divided. Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, one of the players who received the correction, said he was initially told he had won 1.2 million kroner -- about $119,010 -- but later learned his prize was only 125 kroner, or $12.40. "You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true," Sveen told The Guardian. "But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realized it wasn't meant to be this time either." Norsk Tipping apologized for the error, saying none of the incorrect prize amounts had been paid out. "Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount," the company said in a statement. Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen apologized in a separate statement issued Saturday. "I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us," Sagstuen said. "I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong." Sagstuen has since stepped down as CEO, and was replaced by acting CEO Vegar Strand. "We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by this," Strand said in a statement after taking up the position.
Newsweek
01-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Thousands of People Mistakenly Told They Had Won Lottery
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Thousands of lottery players were told they had won potentially life-changing sums of money―only to be informed later that extra zeros had mistakenly been added to their prizes. Gamblers who had planned to buy new homes or splash out on lavish vacations were informed they had won only a fraction of the sum they had initially been told was about to hit their bank accounts. One winner was informed he had won the equivalent of almost $125,000, only to discover later that it was closer to $12.50. The incident happened in Norway on Friday after the state-owned lottery company Norsk Tipping made an error calculating the prizes, which had to be converted from euros into Norwegian kroner. None of the mistakenly inflated prizes were paid out. Newsweek has contacted Norsk Tipping for comment via email. The logo of Norwegian lottery company Norsk Tipping next to the Eurojackpot logo on a smartphone display in Oslo, Norway. The logo of Norwegian lottery company Norsk Tipping next to the Eurojackpot logo on a smartphone display in Oslo, Norway. AMANDA PEDERSEN GISKE/NTB/AFP via Getty Images Why It Matters Norsk Tipping, which the Norwegian Ministry of Culture administers, texted some 47,000 customers on Monday to apologize for the incident. The firm has not disclosed exactly how many people were told incorrect prize details, saying only that "several thousand" players were affected. Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffery said the error was "totally unacceptable." The Norwegian Gambling Authority has launched an official review to assess whether any of the country's gambling laws were broken. Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen apologized and resigned following the furor. What To Know The prize mistake occurred when the results were announced for the Eurojackpot game on Friday. Norsk Tipping receives the prize amounts from Germany in euros and coverts them to Norwegian kroner. However, the winnings were converted to cents and then mistakenly multiplied by 100, instead of being divided by 100, the company said in a statement, blaming a "manual coding error." Ole Fredrik Sveen, a 53-year-old culinary school teacher, was among those who thought his life was about to change. While on holiday in Greece, he received a notification that he had won 1.25 million kroner (about $124,789), The Guardian reported. His joy lasted about 15 minutes before turning to suspicion as he looked online and saw many other big wins being reported. Sveen was right to be cautious because it turned out he had won 125 kroner (about $12.49). "At first you're ecstatic and happy about the message you got that says you won 1.2m kroner," he told The Guardian. He added, "You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true. But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realized it wasn't meant to be this time." When asked what he planned to do with his more modest winnings, he replied: "You don't get too much Champagne for that money. It's more like a glass of prosecco or crémant than Champagne." This incident isn't the first time lottery organizers have drawn the public's ire. In February 2024, John Cheeks sued Powerball over a $340 million prize after the American lottery listed his chosen numbers on its website as a winning combination. However, the company said the numbers had not been drawn but had accidentally appeared on the site as it was undergoing developmental testing. In 2022, Powerball was mocked online after a technical problem prevented numbers from being drawn for a record-breaking $1.9 billion prize. Other lottery players have been more fortunate. A Virginia man won $250,000 on a $2 bet in 2022 after dreaming that the unlikely number sequence 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 would come up. A man in Florida, meanwhile, credited his pregnant dachshund with his good luck after he won $2 million from a ticket he bought while taking a different route than usual because of his pet's needs. What People Are Saying Vegar Strand, Norsk Tipping's managing director, texted customers on Monday: "Thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly informed that they had won a large prize in the Eurojackpot. This was a mistake that affected many and which we take very seriously. We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping, I would like to apologize to everyone affected by this. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many." Tonje Sagstuen, Norsk Tipping's CEO, said: "I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us. I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong. To them I can only say: Sorry! But I understand that it is a small consolation." What Happens Next Officials are reviewing the incident. Norsk Tipping will likely seek a permanent CEO following Sagstuen's resignation.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Thousands of Norwegians mistakenly told they'd won life-changing sums in lottery error
By Jack Guy and Henrik Pettersson, CNN Lottery winnings were multiplied by 100, rather than divided by 100, during the currency conversion. Photo: Supplied Norway's national lottery has apologized after thousands of players were mistakenly told that they had won large sums in the Eurojackpot draw due to a coding error. Norsk Tipping receives the prize amounts from Germany in euros, then coverts them to Norwegian kroner. However, it was during the conversion that an error occurred and winnings were multiplied by 100, rather than divided by 100, the company said in a statement Friday. Norsk Tipping sent messages and push notifications to customers that showed the wrong, inflated winnings, before later issuing a correction. "Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount," it said. The company blamed the issue on a "manual coding error". "No customers have been paid the wrong prize," it added. In a separate statement on Saturday, Norsk Tipping chief executive Tonje Sagstuen also apologized for the error. "I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us," said Sagstuen in the statement. "I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong," she said. "To them I can only say: Sorry! But I understand that it is a small consolation," added Sagstuen, who later stepped down and was replaced by acting chief executive Vegar Strand. The company then sent out another apology message signed by Strand. "On Friday evening, thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly told that they had won a large prize in Eurojackpot. This was an error that affected many and which we take very seriously," it read. "We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by this," said Strand, who added that the company was "working intensively" to make sure that something similar doesn't happen again. As no one correctly matched all of the numbers in Friday's draw, the Eurojackpot has now reached 377 million Norwegian kroner (NZ$61.4 million), with the next draw scheduled to take place on Tuesday. - CNN
